- What's at stake: Park National Corp. has agreed to pay $317 million in stock for First Citizens Bancshares in Dyersburg, Tennessee.
- Expert Quote: "We've long seen Tennessee as a compelling market and were intentional about waiting for the right opportunity to expand," said Park National President Matthew Miller.
- Forward look: The deal would push Park National well past the $10 billion-asset threshold, creating a $12.5 billion-asset combined institution.
UPDATE: This story includes comments from an interview with First Citizens Chairman and CEO Jeff Agee.
Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, has agreed to pay $317 million in stock for the $2.5 billion-asset First Citizens Bancshares in Dyersburg, Tennessee.
For the $9.9 billion-asset Park National, the deal checks two boxes. It establishes the bank's presence in Tennessee, which serves to link its branches in North Carolina and South Carolina to its core footprint in Kentucky and Ohio. Acquiring First National would also propel Park National across the $10 billion-asset threshold, eliminating the possibility the company would slip over the line organically.
At $10 billion of assets, banks face heightened regulatory scrutiny, along with reduced merchant-processing fee income, the result of the Durbin Amendment's cap on card transaction fees. The desire to spread those costs over a larger base of earning assets has prompted many institutions to consider merger-and-acquisition activity as they approach $10 billion of assets.
Park National has been hovering around $10 billion of assets for five years, and actually crossed it briefly in 2021 and 2023, though it later fell below the threshold.
In an August 2025 investor presentation, Park National indicated it was "well positioned" to permanently grow past $10 billion organically. The deal for First Citizens, announced late Monday and expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, renders that possibility moot. It would create a $12.5 billion-asset institution with the earnings power to offset the projected Durbin impact. Indeed, Park National is projecting 15% earnings-per-share accretion in 2026.
"This partnership is the right fit at the right time," Park National President Matthew Miller said in a press release. "It aligns with our long-term growth strategy and positions us to serve more people in meaningful ways."
From First Citizens' perspective, aligning with an institution nearly four times its size provides more resources — including a larger legal lending limit.
"Partnering with Park is a natural and strategic step forward for our bank," First Citizens Chairman and CEO Jeff Agee said in the press release. "Together, we're building a stronger, more impactful organization that will enhance our customers' experience, create meaningful opportunities for our teammates and extend our ability to serve more communities."
Agee has agreed to lead Park National's new Tennessee region.
Park National expanded to North Carolina in 2018,
It has eyed Tennessee, where growth in population and household income are expected to outstrip Ohio's rates, for several years.
"We've long seen Tennessee as a compelling market and were intentional about waiting for the right opportunity to expand," Miller said.
Founded in 1889 as Citizens Bank, First Citizens acquired its current brand identity in 1924, when Citizens merged with First National Bank of Dyersburg. Since then, the bank has expanded to Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga.
First Citizens acquired the $237 million-asset Southern Heritage Bank in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 2014. The company remains the number-one bank by deposits in its legacy Dyersburg market, counting $705 million of deposits and a 65% market share.
First Citizens was looking to continue growing. It figured partnering with Park would be a good way to accelerate the process, Agee told American Banker on Tuesday.
"We really felt we needed to grow a little more in Tennessee and expand" outside of the Volunteer State, Agee said. "By year-end next year, we'll be $13 billion. It would have taken us forever to get there."
Moreover, by merging with an out-of-state bank that's new to the Tennessee market, First Citizens expects to be able to offer jobs to the lion's share of its nearly 300 employees.
"They have no presence in Tennessee," Agee said. "The percentage of our teammates being retained will be the highest with Park than probably anybody else."
Under the terms of Monday's deal, Park National agreed to pay $317 million in stock for First Citizens. The purchase price works out to $82.96 per share, or 168% of tangible book value.
